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Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Listeners in the area of East Chicago, Ind., say they've been hearing an unlicensed radio station broadcasting uncensored gangsta rap music at 90.5 FM. Their complaints to the Federal Communications Commission, which is mandated with shutting down such pirate stations, have not resulted in any action so far. The X-rated station has yet to identify itself or their announcers.To learn more on this current pirate raising listerner's ire, go to the Chicago Sun Times link at:http://www.suntimes.com/business(Robert Feder/CST)

Week of October 30, 2006The Naval Media Center began "podcasting" Navy/Marine Corps Radio News and Navy Vidbits earlier this fall. Navy/Marine Corps Radio News is a two-minute recap of current events for and about the Navy and Marine Corps, and Navy Vidbits is a series of short video segments messages from the Chief of Naval Operations and items of interest to the U.S. Navy community. Naval Media Center is planning on adding more podcasts to the current menu in the near future. All of the services offered by Naval Media Center can be viewed on the Pentagon Channel, American Forces Radio and Television Service and Direct to Sailor television, and on the Navy's Website.

Monday, October 30, 2006

The Crystal Ship is taking to the airwaves this (Monday) evening, on or about6875 kHz and 3275 kHz, commencing around 2230 UTC.

We will have the Johnson Viking Valiants running in parallel this evening... presuming nothing goes wrong. (Hopefully I don't trip over the drop cord this time.... can't run both those gals on one circuit).

This will be Halloween programming. I figure a lot of people will be busy tomorrow evening with the Halloween stuff, especially if you have kids, so we're on tonight. May do something tomorrow too, who knows, but won't bother Emailing about it tomorrow. If you miss us and have the time tomorrow night, check the FRN grapevines website (link below) program announcements section. We often post there when we don't Email, and we often don't Email since I don't want to fill up people's mailboxes too much....-- 73s and FIGHT for FREE RADIO!The PoetThe Crystal ShipThe Free Radio Weekly: A weekly Email publication with the most current pirate loggings and information now being published anywhere! Send your free subscription requests to freeradioweekly@gmail.comand tell 'em that we sent ya!>>>>>F.R.N. Pirate Radio Message Boards: http://www.frn.net/vines/

RadioShack Corporation and MovieBeam, Inc today announced an agreement to sell the MovieBeam movies-on-demand system in approximately 1,700 neighbourhood RadioShack stores effective immediately. The rollout covers 31 major metropolitan areas across the US in which the MovieBeam service is currently offered.The MovieBeam System is composed of a set-top box and small indoor antenna that receives, stores, protects and plays movies. A simple remote control facilitates navigation of the intuitive user interface. A customer does not need cable or satellite to receive the service, although MovieBeam is compatible with each.The MovieBeam movies-on-demand service provides instant access to an ever-changing lineup of new releases and other popular favorites from virtually every major Hollywood studio. There are always 100 movies immediately available, with up to 10 new titles automatically delivered digitally each week – including select movies in high definition (HD).The MovieBeam service is currently available in 31 metropolitan areas across the U.S. reaching more than 41 million households.(Source: RadioShack/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

This edition of BLOG LOGS takes a look at what DXers are hearing recently from Africa. Have you sent your logs in yet ? Contributions are always welcome, and may be directed to my email address posted at the Monitoring Times website at www.monitoringtimes.com. If contributing logs to this blog, please label your email BLOG LOGS. Thanks very much, we appreciate your kind words and support. Now let's get this started with Algeria.Gayle VH

Nigeria, Radio Nigeria. *0428-0447 on 4770. Open carrier to drum interval signal at 0430. Brief choral national anthem, followed by Nigerian pledge of allegiance. Opening station ID, followed by announcements and religious service and vocals. (R. D'Angelo, PA/NASWA Flash Sheet)

Nigeria, Voice of Nigeria. *2100 on 7255. Instrumental music to French ID, followed by program preview into musical bridge. Station ID into newscast and commentary. (T. Banks, TX)

Rwanda, Radio Rwanda. 2050 on 6055. Local African music to pop music and greetings to listeners. Brief English words and a couple of quick ID. Signal blocked by Radio Japan (via Skelton) Very nice signal. (J. Berg, MA/NASWA Flash Sheet)

The government of Kazakhstan has approved licensing rules for organising TV and radio broadcasting. Danial Akhmetov, Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, signed a corresponding order on 20 October. This document regulates the order of issuing licences for organising TV and radio broadcasting; explains reasons why a licence can be refused, as well as a procedure of resolving disputes between a licensor and a licensee.

“The licensing of activities on organising TV and/or radio broadcasting is carried out to implement of the state regulation of activities of physical and legal persons in the area of TV and/or radio broadcasting, as well as to fill up the information space of Kazakhstan with TV and radio programmes,” the document says.

The government decree on rules of licensing activities on organising TV and/or radio broadcasting was published Friday in official media and will come into effect 10 days after its publication.

Welcome to our weekly guide to Radio Netherlands' English Service - a list of the new programmes coming up on Radio Netherlands this week, beginning on Saturday. Please note that the winter season begins on Sunday when some broadcast times may change.MONDAY 30 OCTOBER

Science has many things to offer the world, but what about a 'scientific mind' - and what does that mean anyway?

From around the world and from many different backgrounds, a wide mix of people gathered at an international colloquium called 'Building the Scientific Mind' to discuss these ideas, to network together and to come up with some practical outcomes. Find out more about it in the Research File.

This year is the 250th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and this week's documentary is Radio Netherlands' way of commemorating the life of one of the world's greatest composers.

When Mozart was just nine years old he came to the Netherlands with his family as part of their so-called Great European tour. They were due to stay in the country for just one month but it became a much longer stay - and Mozart and his sister almost paid for it with their lives.

Chris Chambers follows in the Mozart's footsteps in "A Dutch Divertimento in Six Movements".

Two years ago this week, Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh was brutally murdered on the streets of Amsterdam. Today, three of his feature films are being remade in the US. Dutch Horizons looks at the project, named "Triple Theo", and talks with American producer Bruce Weiss.

Alcohol, drugs and gambling. When you think of dangerous addictions, these three first come to mind. But how about playing computer games? It appears obsessive gaming can thoroughly disrupt people's lives. Dutch Horizons visits the first rehab centre for gamers in the Netherlands.

Plus: a short quiz to test your and our knowledge of major events and figures in Dutch history.

The link between culture and development is a crucial one. So what happens to a society when items of cultural heritage are destroyed by war, by natural disaster, by on-going conflict? We look for answers from three people charged with protecting their community's cultural assets in Sri Lanka, Iraq and Palestine.

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Radio Netherlands Worldwide will be 60 years old on Sunday 15 April 2007. Ten years ago, our 50th birthday was celebrated with an Open Day, and again for the 60th anniversary we will be opening our doors to everyone who wants to come and have a look around. Details of activities on the day, and a host of other activities planned for 2007, will be published in due course. But if you’re thinking of visiting the Netherlands, make a note of the date. (R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Radio France International (RFI) has announced an end to its Turkish broadcasts. Speaking about the decision, Antoine Schwarz, the head of RFI’s board of directors, said RFI is planning on forming a forum for the discussion of Turkish-French relations instead of the Turkish radio programming.

RFI programming in Turkish was launched in 1971, when broadcasts were aimed at Turkish immigrants to France who did not yet speak French. The programming provided the immigrants with news about social and cultural events, as well as information on daily life in France.

President and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters in the US, David K Rehr, has sent two letters to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding satellite radio companies XM and Sirius.

In his first letter, Rehr calls on the FCC to “immediately commence a full investigation into both the actual and reported operations of Sirius and XM’s terrestrial repeater networks.” XM and Sirius recently requested authorization to continue or resume operating terrestrial repeaters that were constructed and deployed inconsistently with FCC rules. “These latest disclosures reveal a persistent corporate (if not industry) circumvention of the FCC’s regulations,” Rehr told the FCC.

In a second letter, Rehr questions the “privileged regulatory position” enjoyed by satellite radio given “the expanding delivery of complimentary satellite radio services to nonsubscribers.” Noting a recent XM deal with Acura and the availability of Howard Stern’s show on the Internet free-of-charge, Rehr writes, “drawing a regulatory distinction between satellite and traditional broadcast radio simply because satellite radio content is available on a subscription basis may no longer be justified.”

THAILAND: 9680 Radio Thailand (p); 2040-2046, 2056-2114:30*, 28-Oct; Just caught end of EE news then Xmas tune! to chimes IS @2045; continued in Asian LL; sked--hrd kilohertz--@2107, then music to s/off w/o anmt or IS. SIO=322, LSB helps. (Frodge-DXP)

Saturday, October 28, 2006

A new project, a new idea and a new mission for RAI International - or RaItalia as rumour has it the structure headed by Massimo Magliaro will be renamed in 2007. A six-person work group comprising representatives from RAI and the Italian premier's office are working on this new project. The RAI delegation is headed by Deputy Director General Giancarlo Leone, aided by Pierluigi Malesani and Deborah Bergamni.

The government delegation is headed by the chief of the Information and Publishing Department Paolo Peluffo. The group has already met twice (on October 13 and 24) and is expected to complete the project's outline by November, Cabinet Undersecretary Ricardo Franco Levi reported to parliament. Until now, RAI International has operated on the basis of two conventions with the Italian government, which officially expired in December 2005. The first, worth 18 million euros, dates back to 1962. This covers radio and requires it to produce 11,300 hours of short-band radio time.

The second convention, signed in 1975, is worth around 20 million euros and deals with TV. This requires around 700 hours of TV production (around two hours daily) nd 1,380 hours of radio production. The total of 38 million euros gross represents 40% of RAI Internationals' revenue. Soon, however, things will change. Sources have told the VELINO that the two conventions will be merged into a single one and will include radio and TV programs. The convention will also be worth more in financial terms, at over 40 million euros.

The government apparently plans to ask RAI International to abandon (or radically reduce) its short-wave radio transmissions and to reinvest the 18 million euros under the old convention in a better way. This will mean an end to the news in 26 languages (including Esperanto and Lithuanian) that RAI International broadcasts each day: 120 lines, totalling 15 minutes of daily news, which are translated and eventually adapted by the team to meet the needs of the country it is directed at. In the future, the news will be delivered in just five languages: Spanish, French, English, German and Arab. It will be broadcast via satellite or, for a while, short-wave radio. This should not have a massive impact in terms of employees.

Around 80 mother-tongue translators and newsreaders deal with the 26 newscasts, around 50% within RAI, who will be given other jobs within the company. There are several changes planned for the RaItalia program. The priority of the company's directors is ensuring that the satellite channel - currently not visible in Europe or the Mediterranean - can at least be watched all over Italy (possibly by asking to be represented by Sky).

There is also talk of two different channels for Rai International, one in Italian and the other in English. For the future, the program will draw on the best of the public service (RaiUno, RaiDue, RaiMed and so on), and will be structured by genre, with a particular focus on target markets: Italians abroad as well as foreigners enamoured of Italy.

Some 18 million euros will be saved from ending short-wave radio transmissions and the number of hours of self-produced programs will be boosted, particularly sport and news (there are rumours of blending with RaiNews 24 and RaiMed). An ad hoc programming schedule will also be studied devoted to the promotion of Italian culture in the world, which MPs elected in the foreign districts will help plan, on the basis they are in touch with the interests of local communities. (velino)

Logs from Villa Elisa DX Camp, in Buenos Aires province to 40 kms to Buenos Aires city. It´s a very nice place to DX near Buenos Aires City. I was in a camping near the rural zone. Equipment: Degen DE1103 & long wire antenna

7425 Radio Nacional Republic Arab Saharaui, 2059-2105, October 21, Spanish, very nice local music, announcement by female, news at 2102 UTC, 25332 Very clear reception.- At 2118 UTC I head the station with SINPO: 35443 with talks in arabic.(Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina)

Here's a brief example of the latest of what is being heard on medium wave during the past few days from the National Radio Club members.

1503 Iran, Arabic text into recitations. (Bruce, York, PA)

CKMX Calgary AB busting through KYW here tonight with C&W, "Classic Country AM "1060" slogans. Many other good western signals such as CKLQ-880, CJGX-940 and CHRB-1140 are in, and KOMO-1000 was heard a little earlier. I think I even snagged much-wanted KPAM-860 just before pattern change, but didn't get a positive ID. Go get 'em, folks! (B. McLarnon, CAN)

I'm hearing some country music on 1130, after somewhat nulling local WDFN. Signal strength varies, trying to get station ID. (J. Miller, MC)

Just got an ID, it's KWKH Shreveport LA 1130. Country music, Wachovia ad. #349, LA#4 Just got an ID it's KWKH Shreveport LA 1130. Country music. Still coming in at 0315/UTC---Did not hear Vancouver, as I am way too close to WDFN in Detroit. Also music and talk on 1140 after nulling Michael Savage on WRVA. CHRB???? (if so, 7th province) Also getting a carrier on 1143, WRVA too strong to hear anything else. (J. Miller, MI)

I'm hearing WJOX 690 in Alabama right now. Don't know if this is day or night power, but they have been carrying paid programming for the last half hour - John Anthony NFL System and 1-800 phone number. Station ID WJOX and ESPN The Sports Monster at top of hour. State #33 (J. Miller, MI

To all,The Australian DX Report No. 18 internet audio-visual magazine/podcast is now available, athttp://livehouse.com.au/bobIt runs to 15 mins and 10 secs and contains lots of updated shortwaveschedules and monitoring news, including extracts from trhe official B06schedules for several international broadcasters, not yet available in thepublic domain.I hope you enjoy the opening and closing musical themes - somethingdifferent this time!****** Now.... you also get a Video...!!It is a Movie, with music and the sounds of the Australian bush, shot onlocation in the Happy Valley Forest, near Melbourne, on October 24, 2006.I did HF monitoring work from that location!It plays for 2 mins and 10 secs.After you have watched and listened to the Movie, go to the Australian DX Report 18 for thelatest shortwave news!Your comments are always appreciated about these Audio/Visual Shows at the above site.If you haven't subscribed (free) to the feed, you may do this at the siteusing Feedblitz. This means that the shows will come to you whenever newprograms are released!Regards from Melbourne(Bob Padula)

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

The US Coast Guard Auxiliary (USCGA) will hold a "Special Event Radio Day" Saturday, October 28, to support the International Search and Rescue Competition (ISAR 2006) and the 67th Anniversary of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary. More than two dozen USCG Auxiliary Amateur Radio stations will be active on the HF bands from the Atlantic to Hawaii and from Maine to the US Virgin Islands. Many will operate from US Coast Guard Bases. A special QSL card (see photo) will be available by making contact with any station and sending an SASE. The USCGA invites the Amateur Radio community to join in the celebration.(Source: ARRL )

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Hi amigos radioaficionados ! Welcome to the mid week edition of Dxers Unlimited, coming to you when our amigo SOL, 93 million miles away from us is going through a period of very low activity... As a matter of factthe latest solar flux figures show near baseline levels, approaching the minimum detected solar flux of a bit less than 70 units. So, get ready for really very low ionospheric absorption and much better propagation conditions on frequencies from 500 kilohertz to 7 or 8 megaHertz during your localevening hours , from local sunset to sunrise... More information about propagation conditions as always at the end of the show.... Item two: Amateur radio operators worldwide are becoming quite concerned about alarming lack of activity on the ham bands, especially duringweekdays... during the weekends and especially during the big contests as the one coming up this next weekend, you can certainly monitor much more activity on the favorite DX bands, but still, in my opinion way down from what used to be heard ten or fifteen years ago... Again, in my opinion, this lack of activity is to be traced back to the widespread presence ofcomputers and the availability of Internet services in developed nations and at the most important cities of less developed countries..., mainly national capitals. But, surprisingly, every time that there is one of the big contests in progress, the HF bands show a tremendous level of activity, with thousands and thousands of stations trying be among the winners of the contest.

So, the fact is that there are lots of amateur radio stations in perfect operating conditions ready to be used, but they ar actually getting less use, because their owners are spending more oftheir spare time, the time previously used to be on the air, now used for operating the computers and surfing the world wide web.Item three: The amazing four power sources radios are making illiteracy campaigns possible in remote rural areas, thanks to an training program created here in Cuba, YO SI PUEDO is the name of the illiteracy eradication program, that when translated into English reads YES I CAN... emphasizing the fact that people that don't know how to read and write can certainly learn even at a relatively advanced age in life... YO SI PUEDO, the Cuban training program to help people learn how to read and write using a combination of printed materials, coaches that help the trainees, and radio broadcasts is being used successfully in Haiti, Venezuela and New Zealand among other nations... Yet another fascinating use for radio broadcasting , that wasmade available absolutely free of charge to UNESCO, so that its use may be extended around the world to help the more than 800 million inhabitants of Planet Earth that are illiterates. Asyou have just heard, radio can play a vitally important role in helping the world’s illiterate persons learn how to read and write at much lower cost than any other way.Item four: Antenna topics... A question... sent in by several listeners... they all want to know what exactly is meant by an antenna system often described in advertisements as " A NEST OF DIPOLES" or A DIPOLES NEST.... so stay tuned here for the answer to this question andother features at today's mid week edition of Dxers Unlimited...

I am Arnie Coro in Havana, back with you in a few seconds amigos !!!

According to our correspondence department statistics, Dxers Unlimited is among the most popular programs of our station, and the antenna topics section is ranking always between the second and third place of the list of more mentioned sections of this show... Today's antennatopics section combines with LA NUMERO UNO...the number one, YOU HAVE questions in this feature, aiming at clarifying the concept of " a nest of dipoles" or a "dipoles nest"...Si amigos, yes my friends... several antenna manufacturers, especially those that offer VHF and UHF antennas are promoting an antenna system by the name of " DIPOLES NESTS", a name given to a certain number of half wave dipole antennas tuned to specific frequencies, and connected in parallel at their common feed point... The dipoles nests are not exactly a broadband antenna, because each of the elements has a definite resonant frequency, but in actual practice staggering the resonant frequencies of a certain number of half wave dipoles can prove to be a quite useful antenna system. Although, this is not properly a broadband antenna, like the fan , conical and biconical dipole elements that have been so well describedin the antenna engineering literature.

For example, amateur radio operators have for a long time now used a group of between two and four half wave wire dipoles connected in parallel and fed with a single coaxial cable, typically 50 ohm flexible coax.

One of the favorite combinations for this ham’s wire version of a dipole's nest is used for covering the 20, 15 and 10 meter bands, while another less common system covers 17, 12 and 10 meters. According to my practical experience , using more than three dipoles ispossible, but interaction between the antennas becomes more of a problem. Another popular antenna among amateurs is a dipole's nest for 40, 20 and 10 meters, where the 40 meter band antenna is also used as a 15 meters three half wave in phase element, effectively providing four band coverage...especially if you happen to have an antenna tuner connected between the feed line and your amateur radio transceiver. The tuner is required to match the almost 2 to 1 voltage standing wave ratio presented by the 40 meters antenna when operating on 15 meters, but for 40 , 20 and 10 meters the three wire antennas can be carefully trimmed and tuned on site to obtain a voltage standing wave ratio of less than 1.5 to one, which is considered to be perfectly acceptable by most modern solid state transceivers.

Dipoles nests are sometimes seen at VHF monitoring stations, and those professional systems may have up to six or even seven dipoles made of aluminum or copper tubing, connected to a very solidly built center insulator. But don't try to buy one of those, as they are prettyexpensive, and according to experts it is a much better option to invest your money in home brewing a broadband conical or cage dipole that will provide much better performance than the typical very much publicized " DIPOLES NEST" or NEST OF DIPOLES, whichever way the manufacturers advertise these antenna systems, that again, are nothing more than a certain number of half wave dipoles connected in parallel amigos !!! .....

You are listening to the mid week edition of Dxers Unlimited amigos, a radio program devoted to the promotion and development of this wonderful hobby that you and I enjoy so much...Your radio hobby questions are most welcome ... send them to arnie@rhc.cu, again arnie@rhc.cu, or VIA AIR MAIL to Arnie Coro, Radio Havana Cuba, Havana , Cuba...Here is now our next item of today's program... One of the more fascinating ways of enjoying this hobby is by using the most simple equipment ... an upcoming contest calls for the use of asingle active device receiver, be it a vacuum tube, a bipolar transistor or a field effect transistor... In an upcoming edition of Dxers Unlimited I will try be broadcasting the rules for this one active device receiver contest, but in the meantime let me tell you that mysingle vacuum tube receiver using a battery operated 3S4 with a pair of high impedance headphones provides amazingly good reception . The little radio is powered by a big single 1.3 volts size D rechargeable cell, and two series connected 9 volts batteries, although adding a third one does improve the output volume. This little set is a regenerative receiver, and I have built coils for tuning from the low end of the AM broadcast band up to the 16 meters or 17.5 to 18.0 megaHertz international short wave broadcast band...The little radio is quite sensitive, and selectivity is also quite good when the regeneration control is carefully tweaked to put thedetector just at the point that it will start oscillating...

As you have just heard, this new short wave listening contest is quite a challenge, and the results, when published will show once again, that this is a hobby that can bring many nice rewards to both home brewers and those that enjoy participating in contests.........This is Radio Havana Cuba, the name of the show is Dxers Unlimited, my e-mail address is arnie@rhc.cu, and the postal mailing address is Arnie Coro, Radio Havana Cuba, Havana, Cuba... surfing the web for new amateur radio software a few days ago I came across OLIVIA, yes OLIVIA is the name of yet another digital communications mode using the MultipleFrequency Shift Keying system or MFSK, that makes possible two way contacts while using very low power. OLIVIA MFSK was first written for the LINUX operating system, but later ported to WINDOWS. There are already a few ham radio operators testing the OLIVIA mode on 14.108 kHz, but let me warn you that OLIVIA MFSK can not be decoded with any other software program than the one specifically created for operating it. OLIVIA is yet another variant of the keyboard to keyboard modes that use computer hardware and software connected to an HF transceiver, of which at this moment PSK31 continues to be themost popular one of them all... PSK31 was created by British amateur Peter Martinez, and has become today's de-facto standard for keyboard to keyboard communications between amateur radio stations around the world, because it can be installed in almost any computer and interfacing with the transceiver is quite easy to implement...

Digital amateur radio communications , one of the more than 80 ways you and I may have a nice time playing with our radios and now with our computers too !!!....A quick answer to a listener in South Africa… amigo Roland from Cape town, yes, during the southern hemisphere’s solstice, around the 21’s of December, during the peak of the summer , you will be experiencing the peak of the sporadic E propagation season, and according to forecasts, due to the very low solar activity expected , this may be a nice sporadic E skip season in your part of the world….

And now amigos , as always at the end of the show here is LA NUMERO DOS, the second most popular section of Dxers Unlimited... Arnie Coro's Dxers Unlimited HF plus low band VHF propagation update and forecast...Solar flux now hovering around 75 units typical levels y seen during solar minimum years... providing low frequency bands enthusiasts with what Iexpect to be excellent propagation for AM medium wave and the Tropical bands during the next three to five days...The sunspot number moved up to 50, five zero, and it may continue to move up during the next several days... see you at the weekend edition of the show amigos, and don't forget to send me your opinions about the program and any radio hobby related question that you may have , send mail to arnie@rhc.cu, and VIA POST send an AIRMAIL postcard toArnie Coro, Radio Havana Cuba Havana, Cuba

South Korean broadcasting stations have paid North Korea up to $1 million since 2003 in return for permission to produce programmes in the North, a lawmaker said yesterday. Citing a report of the Ministry of Unification, Rep. Kwon Young-se of the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) said that local broadcasters have been engaged in a price competition, as they pay a large amount of money to the North.

“A total of 10 inter-Korean broadcasting cooperation projects have been approved since 2003,” the lawmaker said. “The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) and Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) paid Pyongyang $1 million for the production of a singing contest programme in July 2003 and a performance by pop singer Cho Yong-pil in May last year, respectively.” Those companies have also paid between $500,000 and $800,000 for other television programmes on North Korean food or the remains of the Koguryo Kingdom (37 BC-AD 668), Kwon said.

A ranking official of the Korean People Artist Federation said last September that three major television broadcasters - KBS, SBS, and Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) - raised the level of the financial support, according to Kwon. “Minor cable channels that cannot afford to pay the large amount of money don’t even contact North Korea,” the official was quoted as saying. “The government should regulate the soaring prices.”

The lawmaker also quoted an official of the Korea Development Institute complaining of Seoul’s difficulty negotiating with Pyongyang because of the large sum of money. “Broadcasters gave North Korea a lot of money to attract events for their programmes, which made North Korea indifferent to economic cooperation projects,” Kwon said.

This mornings email brought us info of a new discussion group of Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) broadcasting in North America.Members may be from around the globe, but discussion should revolvearound the programming and reception issues of those living in Canada, USA and Mexico. For more info, check out: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/drmna

This morning was not a repeat of yesterday morning. That is for sure! Iam typing this at 1535 and yesterday at this time the dial was wild.This morning, most of the DX has faded out. This morning I got up at 1430, a half hour earlier and found a fewsignals, but nothing too exciting at that time, but DX did improve,Filipino-wise. The highlights were the Filipinos that were not inyesterday.

531 PHILIPPINES, man talking in Tagalog and EE mentioning in aninterview "Employers and employees" at 1514 10/24. Three Filipinoslisted, DXGH Gen. Santos City (5 KW), DYDW Tacloban City (10 KW), andDZBR Batangas City (5 KW). DXBR has been logged here before back in the80s. (PM-OR)

China will launch its first direct broadcasting satellite this month in a move that could end a nationwide ban on the use of private satellite dishes, state press said today. The Sinosat-2 will be launched on October 29 from the Xichang launch centre in southwestern China’s Sichuan province, and is designed to bring television signals to “every farming household” in the nation, Xinhua news agency reported.

“The satellite will enable every farming household to receive TV signals using a small dish, thereby bringing educational programmes and even remote medical services to farmers,” the report quoted Sun Laiyan, chief of the China National Space Administration, as saying.

Sinosat-2 will have a 15-year mission life and will provide TV and radio transmissions, digital films, direct TV and digital broadband, the report said, citing SINO Satellite Communications Co Ltd (Sinosat), the satellite’s Beijing-based state-owned operator.

The launch of the satellite could lead to the repeal of a ban on the individual use of satellite dishes, it said. The ban is widely ignored both in urban and rural areas. Industry analysts predict that once individuals are allowed to install satellite dishes, up to 100 million households will do so between 2006 and 2010, the report said. China currently has about 400 million television sets, a huge potential market for satellite TV, it added.

909 BBC R. 5 booming in for a new one; RNE on 855, just working my way down the dial.Dave

645 Unid. 10/23/06 0200/UTC. My Sony ICF-2010 is going nuts as I am on againand off again hearing what sounds like vocal music that is not parallel toeither 650 WSM or 640 any of several stations. I should mention that thesynch detecter on my Sony is showing a carrier on 645, and I can hearing thechange in the audio carrier when I tune up and down from 645 in either USBor LSB.Joe Miller, MI

Monday, October 23, 2006

Members of the Radio Club A.C.R.A of Guadeloupe from St. Claude will do their 8th "The Road of the Rum" starting October 29th. They will activate the special callsign TO8RR on all strips of he road for 15 days through November 12th. Activity will be on SSB/PSK31/RTTY. Operators mentioned are: FG5DN, FG5BC, FG5GG, FG5GK, FG5IM, FG5AZ, FG1GW and FG1JD. Look for updates and QSL info on the ACRA club news.(Source: Ohio Penn DX Bulletin # 777)

Sunday, October 22, 2006

VOA Mobile is an all-text version of our top stories for use on web-enabled handheld devices such as cell phones and PDAs. VOA Mobile allows users worldwide to access text versions of our top news stories in a user-friendly format. The content is generated from the VOANews.com home page and is updated, almost hourly, seven days a week. Now you can take VOA with you wherever you go, in English, Chinese, Indonesian, and Turkish. For more information on accessing this free service, visit the www.VOAMobile.com homepage. To access VOA Mobile stories directly, go to www.VOAMobile.com (English), www.xinwencn.com (Chinese), www.VOAHP.com (Indonesian), and www.VOACEP.com (Turkish). (VOA Website)(Source: MD. AZIZUL ALAM AL-AMINE, BANGLADESH)

Saturday, October 21, 2006

WRN assists Radio Romania International with inaugural DRM broadcast(October 20th, 2006)Radio Romania International (RRI) has commenced its first ever broadcast using DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale with the assistance of WRN, the London-based digital radio and television transmission provider. Since 16th October 2006, RRI, the international voice of Romania, has been broadcasting a daily, 30 minute, English language show to Europe from 1400 UTC during the Summer season on 7160 kHz and during the Winter season from 1500 UTC on 7340 kHz at 60kW (RMS DRM power).

WRN has organised these DRM broadcasts for RRI using a transmitter site in Germany and is undertaking service monitoring and technical support.Eugen Cojocariu, Head of Radio Romania International, says, "It is our great pleasure to announce that Radio Romania International is the first Romanian radio station to enter the DRM Club. We are very happy to be there because we are sure that the future is digital with DRM. I hope our European listeners will enjoy the daily half an hour English show coming from Bucharest."

Dear Radio EnthusiastThe Medium Wave Circle has been publishing Medium Wave News for more than 50 years but only recently has MWN been available in a fully electronic format. Now that is all about to change!

The Circle has been extremely busy converting its unique paper archive intoelectronic form. Sadly, no paper copies survive from the earliest years ofthe club but now even the rarest paper copies from the 1950s onwards will be acessible to everyone.

We have scanned every issue into pdf files which are now available on CD toanyone interested in MW listening or indeed in radio history. Looking at copies from 30, 40 or 50 years ago gives a facsinating insight into what was achieved using much more basic equipment than today. It also shows how much has been learned over subsequent years.

What is perhaps amazing is that some of the names that pop up in the early issues are still appearing in Medium Wave News in the 21st century. We are now ready to take orders for the seven archive CDs that span four decades.

The CDs will be despatched from December 1st so you should have them in good time for Christmas.

We hope you enjoy this journey through the unique history of the Circle.best wishesSteve

Specially for Circle Members:The 1960s Archive CD will be presented absolutely FREE to members withDecember's Medium Wave News. Circle e-members will be able to receive thisCD FREE when they purchase any other double CD from the Medium Wave Circlestore.If you join the Circle before November 26th you will be eligible for thefree CD.

Special SPBRC and Radio Gardarika short wave transmission for EDXC 2006

On October 22, 2006 (Sunday) SPBRC (Saint-Petersburg Regional Centre) and Radio Gardarika will carry out a special short wave transmission devoted to EDXC 2006 conference in St.Petersburg.

The time is 10.00-11.00 UTC and the frequencies are 12010 kHz in the25 m.b. for North-West and West Europe and 15640 kHz in the 19 m.b.for South-East and Central Europe and also for North Africa.

Two 200 kW transmitters of our St.Petersburg-Popovka transmitting centre will be used for this program. We hope that our signals will be able to reach some other parts of the world such as South-East Asia, Japan or Australia.

Unfortunately, we do not verify reports for this transmission - but we shall be very grateful for any comments about the reception quality to 12010and15640 @mail.ru

Sunday, October 15, 2006

With the lovely autumn season upon us, it's time to take a brief holiday to rest, relax and enjoy the sites. Therefore, there will be no postings on the MT Shortwave Central, MT Milcom or B'town Monitoring Post, beginning Monday October 16. We will resume our blog postings the week of October 23rd.Thanks very much for the kind words and contributions for our blogs. See ya soon.Gayle & Larry Van Horn

Text of report by Radio Slovakia International on 15 OctoberRadio Slovakia International is pleased to announce the return of shortwave broadcasting from Sunday 29 October [2006]. Frequencies will be announced in the next few days.[Shortwave broadcasts from Slovakia ended on 30 June 2006 as part of a restructuring process which saw staffing levels at each language section reduced. Radio Slovakia International programmes continued on satellite and via the internet](Source: Radio Slovakia International, Bratislava, in English 15 Oct 06 via BBC Monitoring/R. Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

According to the Asahi Shimbun, The Japanese government is considering ordering the Japan Broadcasting Corp (NHK) to carry programmes about the North Korean abduction issue on its international shortwave radio service. A citizens group has since last year been broadcasting a shortwave radio programme to North Korea in the hopes that Japanese believed to have been abducted there can receive messages from their relatives. But the programme, known as “Shiokaze” (sea breeze), is jammed by North Korea. It’s currently carried via a transmitter in Taiwan.Under the Broadcast Law, the Communications Minister has the authority to designate specific subject matter for international broadcasts. The international shortwave radio service run by NHK is the only service subject to such a ministerial order because part of the production funds for that service is provided by the government. This power is rarely used, as the government wants to respect NHK’s independence. But in the current climate, Yoshihide Suga, the Internal Affairs and Communications Minister, told reporters yesterday that he wants to give specific orders to NHK to carry the programme.However, it appears that Suga is not suggesting that NHK carries the programme as part of its own output, but merely allows the group producing the programme to use NHK’s shortwave transmitters if it wants to. NHK is cutting back on shortwave, so there is plenty of spare capacity available. According to Suga, “If ‘Shiokaze’ says it wants a shortwave radio programme on a new frequency, we’d like to formally apply to the International Telecommunication Union,” Suga said. “We want to think positively to have NHK facilities used.” In fact, applying for a frequency is not necessary, and Suga doesn’t appear to understand how shortwave frequency planning works.Some observers in Japan are expressing concern about a threat to NHK’s independence, but Media Network believes that the reporters covering the story didn’t understand the distinction between broadcasting a programme within one’s own service and allowing another organisation to have airtime on a transmitter.(Source: R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Air America Radio, the liberal news and talk radio network whose on-air talent includes comedian Al Franken, yesterday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after talks with a creditor broke down. The network said it plans to stay on the air while it reorganizes. In a filing with the US bankruptcy court in Manhattan, Air America said it lost about $40.9 million since the spring of 2004, including $13.1 million so far in 2006.“This regrettable action became necessarily only recently when good faith efforts to resolve outstanding debt with a creditor from the company’s earliest days broke down,” Air America said in a statement.Air America was launched in March 2004 with programming to counter-balance politically conservative shows by nationally syndicated hosts like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. The New York-based company said it has 4 million listeners, and has on-air personalities including Robert Kennedy Jr and Randi Rhodes. Air America also syndicates a radio show from television host Jerry Springer.Scott Elberg, who became chief executive on Monday, said in an affidavit that Air America’s backers advised last month that they would no longer subsidize the network’s operating losses. He said this led Air America to consider a possible sale or liquidation. Also in September, MultiCultural Radio Broadcasting Inc, a creditor that said it is owed $550,000, blocked Air America from drawing needed cash from its bank accounts, Elberg said. The bankruptcy filing will lift this restriction, he said. MultiCultural Radio, also based in New York, did not return a call seeking comment.“Nobody likes filing for bankruptcy,” Elberg said in a statement. “This move will enable us to concentrate on informing and entertaining our audience during the coming months.”(Source: Reuters/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Air America filing bankruptcy ? Thats' the best news I heard of in a very long time!!GVH

2006 Welcome to our weekly guide to Radio Netherlands' English Service - a list of the new programmes coming up on Radio Netherlands this week, beginning on Saturday.

SATURDAY 14 OCTOBER *** Weekend Connection *** Every Saturday, the Newsline team brings you Weekend Connection, with thought-provoking reports on the issues making headlines in the Netherlands, Europe and beyond. It's a lively mix of local colour and "the big picture". One week you might hear how Dutch farmers are doing their part to combat bird flu, the next week it's about the worldwide attempt to punish crimes against humanity. Big or small, Weekend Connection covers it all! Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 10.00 (Australia/Asia/Far East), 12.00 (Eastern N America), 14.00 & 15.30(South Asia), 18.00, 19.30 & 20.30 (Africa), 00.00 (Eastern N America), 01.00 (Central N America), 05.00 (Western N America & New Zealand) *** Vox Humana *** In Vox Humana this week, we look at the wretched lives of political prisoners in one of the most closed societies in the world. Canadian author Karen Connolly travelled around Burma and met Burmese former political prisoners in Thailand and decided to fictionalise the stories she heard along the way. Stories that raised haunting questions about the price people were willing to pay in their struggle for democracy. Producer Chris Tenove talked to Karen Connolly about her novel "The Lizard Cage" - for which she too struggled, spending nine years imaging herself in the prison cell with her main character. Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 10.27 (Australia/Asia/Far East), 11.27 (Eastern N America), 14.30 (South Asia), 18.27 & 20.00 (Africa), 00.27 (Eastern N America), 01.27 (Central N America), 04.27 (Western N America), 06.27 (New Zealand), 07.27 (Australia)Repeated: Sun 1430 (South Asia), Sun 1900 (N America, Africa)

SUNDAY 15 OCTOBER *** Amsterdam Forum *** Virtual crack - is online gaming bad for you? Online video games are one of the biggest growth areas in mass entertainment. They are used as entertainment and stress relief by many around the globe. But as the world of online gaming grows, the debate about its social impact is intensifying. A clinic has recently opened in Amsterdam, designed to treat people addicted to playing online games. They say the games may look innocent, but can be as addictive as gambling or drugs. They claim gamer addicts risk their relationships, health, education and careers to satisfy their addiction. So is online gaming a harmless diversion from reality - or a dangerous addiction? Have your say on the topic at: www.radionetherlands.nl/features/amsterdamforum/. Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 10.05 (Australia/Asia/Far East), 11.05 (Eastern N America), 15.05 (South Asia), 18.05 & 20.05 (Africa), 00.00 (Eastern N America), 01.00 (Central N America), 04.00 (Western N America), 06.00 (New Zealand), 07.00 (Australia)